PERU- PROFILE
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Location
Country in west central South America, bounded on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil and Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The area of Peru, including several offshore islands, is 1,285,216 sq km (496,225 sq mi), making it third in size (after Brazil and Argentina) of South America countries. Lima is the country’s capital and chief commercial center.
Topography
Peru may be divided into three main topographical regions: The coastal plain, the sierra, and the Montana.
The coastal plain is an arid, elongated stretch of land extending the entire length of the country and varying in wild from about 65 to 160 km. (about 40 to 100 mi) it is a northern extension of the Tacoma Desert of Chile. The plain has few adequate harbors. Most of the desert is so dry that only10 of the 52 rivers draining the Andean slopes to the Pacific Ocean have sufficient volume to maintain the flow across the desert and reach the coast. However, the coast is the economic center of Peru. Most of the Nation’s leading commercial and export crops grow in the 40 oases of the region.
The sierra, an upland region with towering mountain ranges of the Andes, lofty plateaus, and deep gorges and valleys. The main range is the Cordillera Occidental; other ranges include the Cordillera Oriental, the Cordillera Central.
The sierra, which covers 30 percent of the country’s land area, traverses the country from southeast and northwest.
Several of the highest peaks in the world are located in the various sierra cordilleras and plateaus, notably Huascaran (6,768 m/22,205 ft), the highest in Peru. Lake Titicaca is in the southeast.
In the northeast the sierra slopes downward to a vast, flat tropical jungle, the selvas, extending to the Brazilian border and forming part of the Amazon Basin. The mountain attains a maximum width of about 965 km (about 600 mi) in the north and constitutes some 60 percent of the Peruvian land area; it is covered with thick tropical forests in the west and with dense tropical vegetation in the center and east.
Peru has three main drainage systems. One comprises about 50 torrential streams that rise in the sierra and descend steeply to the coastal plain. The second comprises the tributaries of the Amazon River in the mountain region. The third principal feature is Lake Titicaca, which drains into Lake Poopo in Bolivia thought the Desaguadero River
The majestic ranges of western North America – the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, the cascades, and the Coast Ranges – arose more recently.
The colonial times of Peru left behind the legacies of the social system, economy, and education. Peru was known as the land of abundance and Pizarro’s goal was to conquer the Inca Empire. All legacies that were left behind impacted the country of Peru in different ways. The education system of Peru was completely changed and because of that change Peru is now a Spanish speaking country. This was beneficial to Peru because it improved the literacy rate of their country helping it become more developed as the years go by. The social systems were impacted in way where many different
The landscape of the Cordillera region contains long chains of high rugged mountains, such as the Rocky Mountains, and the Coastal Mountains. In addition, large areas are covered with forests and large bodies of water. The climate of the Cordillera region varies throughout different areas because of the mountains. Coastal temperatures tend to be warmer than those inland, and northern climates are cooler than southern climates. What is so special of the Cordillera region is its bast forestry, which is the biggest industry in the region, fishing, which is most famous for its salmon and mining such as iron, lead, zinc and silver, in which are the most significant industries of the landform region.
Guatemala’s culture is a unique product of Native American ways and a strong Spanish colonial heritage. About half of Guatemala’s population is mestizo (known in Guatemala as ladino), people of mixed European and indigenous ancestry. Ladino culture is dominant in urban areas, and is heavily influenced by European and North American trends. Unlike many Latin American countries, Guatemala still has a large indigenous population, the Maya, which has retained a distinct identity. Deeply rooted in the rural highlands of Guatemala, many indigenous people speak a Mayan language, follow traditional religious and village customs, and continue a rich tradition in textiles and other crafts. The two cultures have made Guatemala a complex society that is deeply divided between rich and poor. This division has produced much of the tension and violence that have marked Guatemala’s history (Guatemalan Culture and History).
The four principal rivers, the San Juan, Coco (Wanks), Grande, and Escondido, empty into the Caribbean. The natural resources of Nicaragua are primarily agricultural. Deposits of volcanic material have enriched the soil, which is extremely fertile. About half the land is covered with forests. The country has deposits of gold, silver, and copper.
Sequoia and Kings National Park has some of the most jaw dropping geological features and resources a park can have, part of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range lies in the park. This is the longest mountain range in America. Mt. Whitney is in this range and rises to 14.491 feet above sea level. The park has eleven additional peaks that are above 14,000 feet and also lie in the park. In Kings Canyon National Park ridges expand into the west and create the goddard and monarch divides with mountains that are taller than 13,000 feet (United States National Park Service, “Overview”, 2015). The Great Western divide is what people see when they first go to Mineral King and the Great Western parallels the Sierran Crest.
Ecuador is located in the western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between the border countries of Colombia and Peru. Ecuador’s capital is Quito. This country counts with a population of 15,492,000 habitants. The total area is 283,560 sq. km including the Galapagos Island which is very famous in the world. The highest elevation is the Chimborazo Mountain with an altitude of 6,267 m. The Cotopaxi Mountain in The Andes is the highest active volcano in the world. The country’s climate is tropical along the coast; with some low temperature is high elevations and tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands. The natural resources of the Ecuador are petroleum, fish, timber and hydropower. This country counts with a population of 15,492,000 habitants. The country’s official language is Spanish but they have some Amerindian languages such as Quechua spoken by some Indian tribes (Geography, 2005)
This is because Peruvian cuisine is influenced by various cultures including those of the Inca Empire, Spanish conquistadors, and African slaves (lavidacomida.com). In the 1400s the natives from the Inca Empire sustained themselves mostly with corn, potatoes, and aji otherwise known as chili peppers. To this day Peru, also known as “The Potato Capital of the world”, is well known for its potatoes with 4,000 varieties (foodbycountry.com). Then in the 1500s the Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro introduced new foods such as wheat, barley, beans, carrots, onions, chicken pork, and lam. However, the Spanish conquistadores also brought with them many diseases, which led to tons of natives dying and the fall of the Inca Empire. Diseases were not the only thing the Spanish conquistadors brought with them, they also brought many African slaves. This African slaves introduced new ways of cooking such as frying food. Another culture that greatly influenced Peruvian cuisine were he Chinese immigrants that arrived to build railroads in the 1800s (lacidacomida.com). The Chinese introduced ginger, soy sauce, and green onions. In addition, Peruvian cuisine has a lot of diversity due to Peru being divided into three regions, which are the coast, the Andean highlands, and Amazon rainforest. In the coast the climate is dry and seafood and stews are more prominent. In the highlands farming and
north. It is called the Pyrenees. Other mountain ranges are the Cantabrian, Sierra Moreno and the Sierra Nevada Mountain ranges.
Machu Picchu is a physical symbol of the culture that created it. It is located in the Andes Mountains in Peru, South America, high above the Urubamba River Canyon Cloud Forest. The Incan capital, Cuzco, the closest major city, is forty three miles northwest of this landmark. Machu Picchu is five square miles and eighteen square kilometers in size. This ancient civilization has an altitude of eight thousand feet and is surrounded by towering green mountains.
As a new country, Peru had many territorial disputes with neighboring countries. In the War of the Pacific, Chile defeated Peru and took control of Tarapaca along with the provinces Tacna and Arica. Although, in 1929, Chile returned Tacna to Peru. Peru and Ecuador had a clash between a boundaries, which had to be intervened by the Rio Protocol. They continued to d...
The Appalachian Mountains is a cluster of mountains, ranging from Eastern Canada to Southeastern North America in Alabama. The Appalachian Mountains has many sub-regions like the Piedmont, Blue mountain ridge, Appalachian plateau, Valley and Ridge, and coastal plans. The Appalachian Mountains is known for its history of coal and hardworking people. I consider Eastern Kentucky the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Mountains have provided my past and current family a job working in the mines, a great place to live, and could some work done.